Operation Bodyguard

Operation Bodyguard was a deception plan employed by the Allied Powers in preparation for Operation Overlord in June 1944 during World War II. The Allies intended to draw German attention away from the site of the invasion, Normandy, and towards the Pas-de-Calais region to the north. In doing so, Normandy would be underdefended, allowing for the Allies to make a breakthrough. The Allies began preparations in 1943, inventing the fictitious "First United States Army Group" (FUSAG) in Kent, just across the English Channel from Calais; the army group consisted of inflatable tanks and dummy paratroopers, and the Allies set up accurate tank track marks and authentic radio chatter in order to deceive the Germans. Dummy aircraft made of wood and canvas were also assembled, and harbors along the Kent coast were filled with dummy landing craft. The best act of deception was the appointment of George S. Patton as FUSAG's commander; the Germans did not expect that the Allies would fire their best attacking general for slapping a soldier, and they believed that he was going to lead the invasion at Calais. The German 15th Army was therefore redeployed to Calais, leaving Normandy undermanned.